Well, count me among those who could not wait any longer. My old pre/pro had almost completely thrown out it's digital preamp stage and I couldn't stand it any longer. The wife said, "Just whatever you do, buy something else before it goes in to get fixed". Who was I to say no.

Let me just say that after several hours of installation and setup, I am EXTREMELY happy with the Rotel. It is very quiet (no hiss) and has a lot of really nice features. Since I never got a chance to hear a 950 (although a local enthusiast did offer: thanks again Phil) I can only offer my opinion on the 1066 by itself.

My comparison is based on the following equipment for those of you who are interested:

NAD T761 receiver as pre/pro and rear channel amp
ADCOM 5503 200 x 3 amp
NAD 512 CD (love it's DAC's)
Toshiba 2700 DVD changer
Sony T60 Directivo
Energy 5.1e mains, 3.1e rears, EPS12 sup and EC100 center.

There is a huge difference in movies. More detail, better sonic placement, substantial improvement in quantity and quality of bass. Prologic II does a fine job on my DSS's digi out. Stereo performance is very good. A little more laid back on the top end than the NAD, but extremly big soundstage and very listenable.

I won't blather on anymore since this is the Outlaw's site, but my point being that I'm sure the 950 will be a fine piece after it goes through it's QC growing pains and supply shortage problems. Unfortunately, I couldn't continue to wait for it to mature.

I am keenly looking at more amplification though and the Outlaw stuff is high on the list.